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OP, what is going on in your school as far as breaks for the kids--recess, lunch? Some schools eliminated recess to focus on academics. Boys need to be able to let off steam. There have been some observations that boys aren't doing as well in school because they have more of a tendency to be hyperactive, or they're just naturally more physically active. School favors those who sit quietly in their seats and stay focussed. Boys are being left behind. Also, girls develop verbal skills much earlier, including reading. At the 6th grade level, boys may not have caught up yet.
Personally, I don't understand the results of studies that have made such findings (about boys being more active, and therefore potentially disruptive to the class routine); when I was in school, everyone was well-behaved. But this is what I've read.
I taught 4 gender-specific classes where I did my student teaching.
I feel like I can confidently say that, at least in middle school, there's a huge difference between the learning strategies of boys and girls. I taught boy classes, and we did things that were quite a bit different than a traditional classroom. I allowed kids to make those annoying tapping noises. Lectures were only 10-15 minutes long. We played lots of competitive games. Oh yeah, and I spent quite a bit of time establishing myself as the alpha male in the group (it sounds ridiculous, but it works).
The result was that the boys were happier, more engaged when I needed them to be, and classroom management was easier than the 2 Co-Ed groups I taught. I'm not advocating that all schools should switch over to gender-specific education, but it does work in certain situations if done properly.
Our kids get about 30 mins of recess followed by 30 mins of lunch. They are in school from 8;20 to 12, lunch/recess for an hour and then back to school until 2;25
We are switching schools this year as we are moving so it will be interesting to see the new school and the ratio of boys:girls learning practices.
I think that what you are seeing in your school is the result of education being perceived as a "feminine" activity. After all, most teachers are women and boys in middle school do not want to be perceived as weak or girlie. Since doing well in school equates to doing well at a female dominated activity many boys do not want to be seen as excelling in that area. In short, many boys see doing well in school as emasculating.
I don't think anyone in schools is doing anything to purposely make boys perform poorly. Rather it is a by product of the feminization of schools. I think that the feminization of schools is a result of poor teacher pay and low social status for teachers.
I was the NJHS advisor at my K-8 elementary school. You don't "make it" into NJHS. You have to apply. Grades are not the only criteria. There is a significant application process. At my school there were many boys that qualified for NJHS, but were to busy playing video games or sports to care about taking the time to apply. I think academic recognition is more important to girls at that age than boys.
Okay flat fact. Many men from a young age, have the entire world held on their back. We get attacked, yelled at, and smacked for almost anything, or barely nothing at all. Then we do it, to each other. We do it all, in the name of women.
Women on the other hand, are considered to be fragile, that they will not have the drive to challenge the world, and will most likely get pregnant, or divorced. Like the saying goes "maybe you will meet a nice fellow, at the office, school yard, or some place". If a woman needs to get a job, all she has to do is look nice, and talk freindly. A man usually will be divided by his appearance, and his work record. To have a work record, means you did not attend summer school, and did not get arrested.
.............
So why are the girls getting higher grades? Because when a boy talks to other boys, we are in a wrestler, race car driver, mindset. When a girl talks to other girls, they do skip rope, play with dolls, mindset. Then of course their is the inbetweens like tag, and red light, green light.
The flat fact, a man will keep, trying to accomplish their goals. A woman is expected to quit her goals for children. Instantly you can see the difference, in survival rates. A boy is exposed to so much stimulus of the world outside of caring about family, while a girl is expected to
spend eternity taking care of kids.
Most of the men who do make it, are men who barely get to live their lives in the world. The weak crippled men, that everybody passes judgement on, and spits on, unless they have
bens, in their wallet. Then threw them comes the next generation.
The most strongest of men, are tempted by physical non-academic-paper goals, like sports.
These men will most likely fail, and take easy jobs alongside their cripple counterparts. If not they will probably find something less paper to do.
You can see the results by the jobs, that people persue.
If you want to get sons, to do better. You need to direct all stimulus to classwork, and turn that into a primary drive. Like somebody who spends years becoming a better etc. Most boys looks up to the good cop, parent. Wants to have to have that "Batman and Robin" type atmosphere, when doing things. To make things fun. Girls on the otherhand are not fed any of the stimulus that boys are fed, so they respond to the only stimulus they are shown appreciation for. School work.
Girls and boys are the same, but boys respond more to their surroundings, and get called out more. Then their is the trauma of a divorcee home, broken home, hatefilled community, and
hatefilled parents.
Okay flat fact. Many men from a young age, have the entire world held on their back. We get attacked, yelled at, and smacked for almost anything, or barely nothing at all. Then we do it, to each other. We do it all, in the name of women.
Women on the other hand, are considered to be fragile, that they will not have the drive to challenge the world, and will most likely get pregnant, or divorced. Like the saying goes "maybe you will meet a nice fellow, at the office, school yard, or some place". If a woman needs to get a job, all she has to do is look nice, and talk freindly. A man usually will be divided by his appearance, and his work record. To have a work record, means you did not attend summer school, and did not get arrested.
.............
So why are the girls getting higher grades? Because when a boy talks to other boys, we are in a wrestler, race car driver, mindset. When a girl talks to other girls, they do skip rope, play with dolls, mindset. Then of course their is the inbetweens like tag, and red light, green light.
The flat fact, a man will keep, trying to accomplish their goals. A woman is expected to quit her goals for children. Instantly you can see the difference, in survival rates. A boy is exposed to so much stimulus of the world outside of caring about family, while a girl is expected to
spend eternity taking care of kids.
Most of the men who do make it, are men who barely get to live their lives in the world. The weak crippled men, that everybody passes judgement on, and spits on, unless they have
bens, in their wallet. Then threw them comes the next generation.
The most strongest of men, are tempted by physical non-academic-paper goals, like sports.
These men will most likely fail, and take easy jobs alongside their cripple counterparts. If not they will probably find something less paper to do.
You can see the results by the jobs, that people persue.
If you want to get sons, to do better. You need to direct all stimulus to classwork, and turn that into a primary drive. Like somebody who spends years becoming a better etc. Most boys looks up to the good cop, parent. Wants to have to have that "Batman and Robin" type atmosphere, when doing things. To make things fun. Girls on the otherhand are not fed any of the stimulus that boys are fed, so they respond to the only stimulus they are shown appreciation for. School work.
Girls and boys are the same, but boys respond more to their surroundings, and get called out more. Then their is the trauma of a divorcee home, broken home, hatefilled community, and
hatefilled parents.
Jeez, is this 1950??
Quote:
A boy is exposed to so much stimulus of the world outside of caring about family, while a girl is expected to
spend eternity taking care of kids.
My kids, two boys and a girl were all exposed to the same things. My daughter has seen more countries then most adults that I know.
Quote:
Because when a boy talks to other boys, we are in a wrestler, race car driver, mindset. When a girl talks to other girls, they do skip rope, play with dolls, mindset.
Whaaat??
I think it has to do with maturity. As another poster mentioned in middle school boys don't tend to work as hard academically but catch up in HS. I've found this to be true.
I was the NJHS advisor at my K-8 elementary school. You don't "make it" into NJHS. You have to apply. Grades are not the only criteria. There is a significant application process. At my school there were many boys that qualified for NJHS, but were to busy playing video games or sports to care about taking the time to apply. I think academic recognition is more important to girls at that age than boys.
Thank you for making this point. What many people may not also realize is that NJHS is a service organization that requires a significant commitment of time and effort beyond school work; it's not simply a reward for a high grade point average. Here's a link for more information:
OP, what is going on in your school as far as breaks for the kids--recess, lunch? Some schools eliminated recess to focus on academics. Boys need to be able to let off steam. There have been some observations that boys aren't doing as well in school because they have more of a tendency to be hyperactive, or they're just naturally more physically active. School favors those who sit quietly in their seats and stay focussed. Boys are being left behind. Also, girls develop verbal skills much earlier, including reading. At the 6th grade level, boys may not have caught up yet.
Personally, I don't understand the results of studies that have made such findings (about boys being more active, and therefore potentially disruptive to the class routine); when I was in school, everyone was well-behaved. But this is what I've read.
All kids do better when they can let off steam. Boys and girls don't always do it in the same way, but breaks are important for everyone's success. That's why workplaces factor them in...people tend to be more focused and productive and successful when they can step away from a task for a short period of time. P.E. can be great for this, but my home state is one of the only, if not THE only in the country that still mandates P.E. for everyone, K-12.
Really, though, not all breaks look like recess. The "boys are more active" adage may or may not hold true, depending on the student. There are plenty of boys who are fairly sedentary. And lots of girls who are very physically active. If anything, I've noticed a real trend towards the sedentary end of things for either gender...just a reality in keeping with entertainment trends.
At any rate, being able to sit quietly and attend to a given activity for a given period of time, whether or not it is a preferred activity, is not only an important school skill, it's an important life skill. It's not every kid's favorite thing to do, but not having to hone that particular skill, because "that's not how my child learns best" is a bad idea. Learning to attend to activities in a variety of settings is an important skill to have. Training one's self to focus when focus is needed is essential to success in school and beyond. Going easy on that particular skill is a really bad idea. There are ways to set up students' days so that they DO get those breaks, but that they are contingent upon remaining focused on tasks when it is time to be focused on tasks.
It doesn't really always come down to gender. You will have gaps in academic participation and academic success in schools that are not coeducational.
It's really just a reflection of the school itself. I wouldn't think to much into it. Next year it could be all boys, who knows?
In my years of volunteering in my kids schools, though, it does seem that girls are more competitive with their schoolwork than boys. For example - often girls will have nicer handwriting because they implicitly challenge each other to have nicer handwriting. While boys could care or less!
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